Anti-polluting waste collector for a burn table

ABSTRACT

An anti-polluting waste collector for a burn table, adapted for supporting a workpiece beneath a flame cutting machine, includes an open tank containing a liquid maintained at a predetermined level therein and a grating disposed across the tank opening. An air chamber is selectively pressurized to provide a pressure head for normally maintaining the predetermined liquid level above the grating and to lower such level below the grating for convenient removal of waste material trapped thereon.



1. A waste collector adapted for supporting a workpiece beneath a flamecutting machine and to receive waste material therefrom comprising; atank having an open top and containing a liquid normally maintained at apredetermined upper level; liquid level control means connected to saidtank for normally maintaining said liquid at said upper level and forselectively lowering and maintaining the liquid level at a predeterminedlower level disposed vertically below said upper level; and ahorizontally disposed grating means attached to said tank to extendacross the open top thereof and disposed vertically below said upperlevel and vertically above said lower level.
 2. The invention of claim 1further comprising support means mounted vertically above and closelyadjacent to said grating means for supporting a workpiece thereon and aflame cutting machine mounted vertically above said support means. 3.The waste collector of claim 1 wherein said liquid level control meansincludes means forming at least one expansible chamber normallycontaining a pressurized gas therein, said chamber communicating withsaid tank to normally provide a pressure head sufficient to support andmaintain said liquid at said predetermined upper level until the gaspressure in said chamber is reduced to permit a portion of the liquid todrain from the tank and into the chamber to lower the liquid to saidlower level.
 4. The waste collector of claim 3 wherein said liquid levelcontrol means further comprises a source of gas under pressure andcontrol valve means for selectively communicating said gas to saidchamber.
 5. The waste collector of claim 3 wherein said chamber isintegrally formed within said tank.
 6. The waste collector of claim 1wherein said grating means comprises a grate having a plurality ofopenings formed therethrough, said openings being sized to allow thepassage of fine waste material therethrough while retaining largersalvageable material thereon.
 7. A waste collector for use with a flamecutting machine to receive and retain waste material therefromcomprising, a tank having an open top portion and a lower portioncontaining a substantially constant volume of liquid, means forming aburn table across said top of the tank for supporting a workpiecebeneath the flame cutting machine, grating means in predetermined spacedrelation below the burn table for collecting and retaining a portion ofsuch waste material thereon, a downwardly directed baffle plate disposedwithin said tank forming an air-liquid chamber having a bottom openinginto the tank, and means to selectively provide a pressure head withinthe chamber sufficient to elevate and support said liquid within thetank at a predetermined upper level until the pressure in the chamber isreduced to enable a portion of said constant volume of liquid to drainfrom the tank into the chamber in order to lower the liquid level in thetank from said upper level to a predetermined lower level below thegrating.
 8. The waste collector of claim 7 wherein said tank includesdownwardly sloping sidewalls converging toward said lower portion of thetank, and a pair of said baffles individually disposed in spaced andsubstantially parallel relation to said sidewalls to form a pair of saidchambers within the tank with said baffles terminating in lower endsspaced from said lower portion of the tank to permit tHe transfer ofsaid liquid between the chambers and the tank.
 9. The waste collector ofclaim 8 wherein said tank includes a pair of end walls and an opening atsaid lower portion thereof, a trough adjacent to one end wall forming asettling pit below said opening, a conveyor disposed in said trough andextending below said opening, and the end wall opposite to said one endwall having an extension extending below the opening to afford a wastematerial guide means to direct the waste material gravitating throughsaid opening onto the conveyor to elevate the waste material from saidsettling pit.
 10. A waste collector adapted for supporting a workpiecebeneath a flame cutting machine and to receive waste material therefromcomprising: a tank having an open top and containing a liquid normallymaintained at a predetermined upper level; and liquid level controlmeans connected to said tank for normally maintaining said liquid atsaid upper level and for selectively lowering and maintaining the liquidlevel at a predetermined lower level disposed vertically below saidupper level, said liquid level control means including means forming atleast one expansible chamber normally containing a pressurized gastherein, said chamber communicating with said tank to normally provide apressure head sufficient to support and maintain said liquid at saidpredetermined upper level until the gas pressure in said chamber isreduced to permit a portion of the liquid to drain from the tank andinto the chamber to lower the liquid to said lower level.
 11. The wastecollector of claim 10 wherein said liquid level control means furthercomprises a source of gas under pressure and control valve means forselectively communicating said gas to said chamber.
 12. The wastecollector of claim 10 wherein said chamber is integrally formed withinsaid tank.